Dodgers lose Ramirez for eight weeks

March 21, 2013

Updated 1:17 p.m.

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Hanley Ramirez of the Dodgers will be sidelined for eight weeks with a torn ligament in his thumb after injuring it in the final game of the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday. MIKE EHRMANN, GETTY IMAGES

Hanley Ramirez of the Dodgers will be sidelined for eight weeks with a torn ligament in his thumb after injuring it in the final game of the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday. MIKE EHRMANN, GETTY IMAGES

AT A GLANCE

THE GAME: The Dodgers rode Alex Castellanos' three-run home run to a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Tucson on Thursday. They are 10-14-3 in Cactus League games.

PITCHING REPORT: The Dodgers used three minor league pitchers – Stephen Fife, Blake Johnson and Sean White. Fife went the first six innings, allowing three runs (two earned).

HITTING REPORT: Castellanos' home run was his team-high fourth and tied him with spring phenom Yasiel Puig for the team lead in RBI (11).

TUCSON – Given the skepticism about Hanley Ramirez's ability to play adequate defense at shortstop on a daily basis, the only thing worse for the Dodgers than having Ramirez at shortstop is not having him at all.

That worst-case scenario was confirmed for the Dodgers on Thursday morning after an MRI revealed a torn ligament in Ramirez's right thumb. He will undergo surgery to repair the ligament Friday in Los Angeles and be out for eight weeks.

The Dodgers had planned to make Ramirez their everyday shortstop but emphasized he needed to improve defensively after moving to third base with the Florida Marlins last season until his July trade to Los Angeles.

Ramirez injured his thumb while playing third base for the Dominican Republic in Tuesday night's World Baseball Classic final. Ramirez dived to his left for a ground ball and jammed his right thumb into the ground as he landed. He stayed in the game long enough to single in his next at-bat, but left after five innings.

"It's bad. It's bad," Ramirez said Thursday morning before heading back to Los Angeles. "It's something I can't control. It could happen anywhere. Unfortunately, it happened in the WBC. It's very disappointing."

Ramirez's right-handed bat will be missed in a Dodgers lineup that leans to the left (Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier) in the top half. Ramirez was penciled in to bat fifth, between Gonzalez and Ethier. There is no comparable option to fill that slot – and apparently no room in the outfield for spring phenom Yasiel Puig.

The Dodgers have two options to replace Ramirez – give the job to Dee Gordon again and leave Luis Cruz as the primary third baseman, or move Cruz to shortstop and use a combination of Nick Punto, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Juan Uribe at third base.

Gordon was the everyday shortstop last season until he injured his thumb July 4. But he was hitting only .229 with a .280 on-base percentage at the time, and was ticketed for Triple-A this year after the midseason trade for Ramirez last year.

"My first thought is what we did last year, which basically calmed us down," Mattingly said. After Gordon's injury, Cruz moved to shortstop and handled the position until Ramirez was acquired.

"He (Cruz) is not going to have huge range. But he's got sure hands, a sure arm. He's kind of my first thought, which gives me multiple options at third base. That's my first thought without going too deep into it."

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said there are no immediate plans to pursue a shortstop or third baseman in a trade. The Dodgers contacted Scott Rolen last winter, but Colletti said they have no plans to renew those conversations with the veteran third baseman, who remains unsigned.

"We're not going to pull anybody out of thin air and add them to the mix," Colletti said. "We all know who we have competing over there. They'll tell us who it's going to be."

Colletti said unequivocally that Ramirez would play shortstop when he returns. Mattingly was asked how comfortable he would be handing the key defensive position to Ramirez when he returns.

"I'm not comfortable with anything going on at shortstop right now," Mattingly said. "Am I going to be comfortable in eight weeks with a guy who hasn't played if it's a mess there? It depends what his work looks like, I guess."

CHARITY GAME

The Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4, in front of a sellout crowd of 11,118 at Tucson's Kino Sports Complex in the third annual game to benefit the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Foundation. Green was the 9-year-old daughter of Dodgers scout John Green (and granddaughter of former big-league manager and executive Dallas Green) who was one of the victims of the Jan. 8, 2011 shooting that also seriously wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Since then, the foundation has raised approximately $500,000 to support "the Three A's – Athletics, Academics, Arts," according to John Green. Before Thursday's game, Green presented a check for $100,000 that will help build a 40,000-square foot sports complex in the Tucson area.

"There's a lot of reminders and those are tough," Green said of moving on since the tragedy. "There will be a tear or two shed today over something, I'm sure.

"But we're proud of what we've been able to do in her name and that's the best we can do. This is how we move on."

NOTES

Relievers Matt Guerrier, Kevin Gregg, Ronald Belisario and Kenley Jansen each threw a simulated inning to teammates Carl Crawford, Tim Federowicz and Cruz at Camelback Ranch. ... Right-hander Zack Greinke reported no discomfort in his elbow after throwing 43 pitches in a minor league camp game Wednesday. He is expected to throw in another minor league game Monday.

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